2

Elena didn't sleep. She lay in her cramped Brooklyn bedroom watching headlights paint shadows across the ceiling while Alexander Knight's voice replayed in her head.

My office. 9AM. Don't be late.

At seven in the morning, she gave up pretending and dragged herself to the shower. She pulled on black slacks and a cream blouse—the only professional outfit that didn't need dry cleaning.

Her sister Sophia was sprawled on the couch when Elena emerged.

"You're trending. Number three on T*****r. There's a betting pool on Reddit about how much he's going to sue you for.

"Don't."

Elena grabbed her bag, checking for the third time that she had everything.

Knight Holdings occupied a glass tower that seemed designed to make regular people feel small. Elena stood on the sidewalk at eight fifty-two, looking up at floors disappearing into morning clouds.

The lobby was marble and steel. A security guard directed her to elevators marked "Executive Access Only." The elevator rose smoothly to the fiftieth floor.

A woman behind a curved desk smiled with professional emptiness.

"Elena Brooks. I have a nine o'clock with Mr. Knight."

"Mr. Chen will be with you shortly."

A man appeared almost immediately—Asian-American, around thirty, with a suit that managed to look both expensive and approachable.

"Elena Brooks? Marcus Chen. I'm Alexander's CFO and the person who gets to clean up his messes. Which apparently now includes you."

Elena shook his hand.

"I'm the mess?"

"You're the variable he didn't plan for. Trust me, that's saying something."

Marcus led her down a hallway lined with photographs of Alexander at ribbon cuttings and award ceremonies.

"He's not what you expect. Most people think he's cold. They're wrong. He's just careful."

"He threatened to destroy my business."

"Like I said. Careful."

Marcus stopped at double doors.

"For what it's worth, he could have just buried you. The fact that he called you here instead means something."

He knocked once, then opened the door to the enormous office.

Behind a desk carved from black granite sat Alexander Knight.

He looked up, and the impact of his full attention nearly knocked Elena back a step.

"Miss Brooks. You're early."

"You said don't be late."

"I said nine o'clock. It's eight fifty-eight."

He glanced at his watch.

"Do you always take instructions so literally?"

Elena's fingers tightened on her bag.

"Do you always time your meetings to the second?"

Something flickered across his expression—too quick to read. He gestured to the chair across from his desk.

"Sit."

Elena sat, spine straight, chin up.

Alexander studied her in silence. His charcoal suit was perfect, no evidence of last night's disaster.

"I assume you've seen the news."

"Kind of hard to miss."

"Then you understand the position you've put me in."

"The position I put you in? It was an accident."

"An accident that's cost my company eight million dollars in market value since opening bell."

His voice didn't rise but somehow filled the room.

"But here's what's interesting. The media isn't portraying me as the victim. They're portraying me as the cold billionaire who humiliated a struggling young woman trying to save her father's legacy."

His eyes never left hers.

"You've made me look human, Miss Brooks. And in my world, that's almost as dangerous as looking weak."

Elena's mouth went dry.

"I don't understand."

"I know you don't. That's what makes this interesting."

Alexander stood, moving to the windows before turning back.

"I'm going to give you a choice. Walk out of here right now, and I'll proceed with the lawsuit. My legal team will tie you up in court for years. You'll lose everything."

Elena's hands clenched.

"Or?"

"Or you help me fix what you broke."

"I can't pay"

"I don't want your money."

He moved closer, close enough that Elena had to tilt her head back.

"I want you to come outside with me right now. There are photographers downstairs—someone tipped them off about this meeting."

"You tipped them off."

His smile was razor-sharp.

"When we walk outside, you're going to let me kiss you. In front of every camera in Manhattan. And you're going to kiss me back like you mean it."

Elena stared at him.

"That's insane."

"That's survival. One kiss, perfectly timed, and suddenly I'm not the villain. I'm the man who fell for you despite your spectacular disaster."

He leaned against his desk.

"Then you sign a contract agreeing to be my fiancée for six months. Public appearances. Social events. At the end, I pay you five hundred thousand dollars, and we both move on."

The number hit like a bomb. Enough to save everything.

Elena's heart hammered against her ribs. Five hundred thousand dollars. Her mother's medical bills. Sophia's tuition. Her father's business saved.

"You're serious."

"I'm always serious."

Alexander checked his watch.

"The photographers have been waiting twelve minutes. I need your answer now."

He stepped closer, and Elena could smell his cologne—expensive, controlled, just like everything else about him.

"Walk away and lose everything, or come outside and let me kiss you."

Elena stared at him, her entire future balanced on the edge of a single word.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Probably another notification. Another person sharing the video of her humiliation.

She thought about sitting across from creditors, admitting she couldn't pay. Thought about closing her father's office for the last time. Thought about everything he'd built disappearing because she'd been too tired, too clumsy, too desperate.

Alexander was watching her with those cold grey eyes, waiting for her answer like he already knew what it would be.

Maybe he did.

Maybe he'd known from the moment he looked up her company information. From the moment he saw how much debt she carried. From the moment he realized she had no choice.